prosecution staff and the attorney general and the deputy attorney general and the president has ordered the fbi to seal off those offices. now, as tipping points go, the saturday night massacre was a biggie setting in motion a series of events that would ultimately take down the nixon presidency. the saturday night massacre occurred on october 20th, 1973. but less than a month before that date something else happened that didn t get saturday night massacre level attention, but it was arguably just as important. you see, on september 24th, 1973, the office of legal counsel, the olc, part of the department of justice issued a memo that concluded, criminal proceedings against a president in office should not go beyond a point where they could result in so serious a physical interference with the president s performance of his official duties that it would